Ok, copper fill then. Have that and the traces on the same side of the board.Then you end up like this, where the white is the copper that is removed and the red is the copper that is left.This is for a surface mount board. You probably want everything on the bottom layer for easier soldering of pins to pads.

That's exactly what I mean! That looks pretty good.Last thing I would recommend is making the 90 degree corners on traces into a couple of 45 degree corners.This is important in home etching because often the inside corner can be over-etched leaving the resulting corner trace on the thin side.

Some nice attempts. Tinning makes a massive difference to the solderbility.

A little while ago, I came across an article, but can't find it right now. It used a CD printer to print the etch resist and the silk screen layers directly onto the board, pretty nifty. I think they used a simple two-edged jig to ensure registration. They were using a non-FeCl etch too (which is a pain to recycle and stains everything around).Use good quality PCB drill bits and a drill post (dremel et al make them). If you allow the drill to self-centre, drilling is quite easy and can look good. Self centring requires the pad hole to be quite small). The technique is to visually align the drill/work, then as the drill nears the work, allow the work to move, and the hole in the pad will align with the drill, hold firmly and press through. Obviously works with smaller boards. Use of backing board leaves a good finish.

I have read this post with great interest. I'm new to the PCB layout and design. For those of you who are drilling your own boards. Where do I find a .08 bit in the USA. What size of bit or bits do I need? Where can I get them? I believe .08 is the correct bit size for most leads.

I have read this post with great interest. I'm new to the PCB layout and design. For those of you who are drilling your own boards. Where do I find a .08 bit in the USA. What size of bit or bits do I need? Where can I get them? I believe .08 is the correct bit size for most leads.

Thanks

0.08? Sounds very wrong in mm or in - perhaps you mean 0.8mm?

0.035" or 0.9mm is about right for a range of leads, thin leads and vias can be thinner than this. eBay has quite a lotof carbide PCB drills available, but some are ex-industry used drills from the look of things. For fibre glass carbide bits are the best.

[ I will NOT respond to personal messages, I WILL delete them, use the forum please ]

I have made several PCBs at home and I've been making them for a long time. Everytime I make one, it is better than the one before, because I find ways to optimize the processes involved: what is the best paper for toner transfer, the adequate temperature and time for the transfer, and so on. I like doing them and I enjoy doing them.

All my boards are single-sided, and I take care in revising the routing made by DipTrace (more on that later). I don't trust its auto-router blindly. A good PCB starts in the PCB layout: I know of the limitations of my process and I take care in specifying trace widths and clearance I can handle (18mil). I avoid jumpers. I revise DipTraces autoroutes and end up changing or correcting at least 50% of them.

I know my homemade PCBs could look a lot better if I were using photographic transfer methods, a better etching process and so on, but I like to keep it simple and cheap, so I use toner transfer with glossy magazine paper, transfered with a cloth iron and etched with (warm and filtered) ferric chloride. This is very cheap and very fast. For me, designing the board as well as I can is what gives me high sucess rates.

Here are a couple examples of PCBs I've made. Both are links to Facebook albums, but no facebook account is required:

About DipTrace: I like it very much. I does everything I need (my needs are pretty basic and simple). Now that I've learned how to create custom components and patterns on it, there is very little I can't do with it.

Only TODAY I sent my first order to iTeadStudio, because the PCBs had to be double-sided and I needed10 of them.

In short, I find designing and making PCBs a great fun and I really enjoy making them.